The King of Rock and Roll has returned to the big screen in a way few could have predicted. On February 16, 2026, audiences around the world got their first look at the official trailer for EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert, a groundbreaking documentary directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring none other than Elvis Presley himself. This film, which officially opens in cinemas on February 19, 2026, is already making waves for its innovative approach, emotional depth, and the sheer spectacle of seeing Elvis in his prime, larger than life on IMAX screens.
According to Forbes Australia, the genesis of EPiC is as extraordinary as the man it celebrates. Baz Luhrmann, Australia’s most celebrated director, stumbled upon the project almost by accident while researching his 2022 biopic Elvis. Deep in the salt mines of Kansas City, where MGM stores its archival film reels, Luhrmann’s team unearthed a treasure trove: 65 boxes of pristine, never-before-seen concert footage and rare Super 8 reels from the Graceland Archives. The footage, dating from Elvis’s iconic 1970s Las Vegas residency, had lain untouched for decades, its existence the stuff of rumor and legend among diehard fans.
“We send someone down deep into the MGM vaults in the salt mines in Kansas City. I was getting photos back, you know, video of this door kicked in, dust, we’re like, Raiders of the Lost Ark. We found 65 boxes of negative,” Luhrmann told the audience at the Melbourne premiere, as reported by Forbes Australia. The discovery didn’t stop there. Angie Marchese, a curator at Graceland, unearthed additional Super 8 footage, and perhaps most astonishing of all, a 45-minute audio recording of Elvis candidly recounting his life and career.
Luhrmann realized immediately that he had something special on his hands. “One of the great finds has been unheard recordings of Elvis talking about his life and his music: from the 1970 Vegas show, on tour in 1972 and even precious moments of the 1957 ‘gold jacket’ performance in Hawaii. I knew that we could not pass up this opportunity. It was these discoveries that gave the inspiration for the new film,” he explained to Forbes Australia.
But the journey from dusty vault to dazzling IMAX screen was anything but straightforward. As Luhrmann recounted at the AACTA Festival on the Gold Coast, the footage was visually stunning but initially silent. A two-year global search ensued to reconstruct the audio, blending original stage recordings, re-imagined orchestrations with Nashville gospel choirs, and—at times—acquisitions from collectors and black market sources. “There’s a lot of bootleg Elvis material out there,” Luhrmann admitted, as quoted by Solstice Media. “Let’s just say there were moments where we were meeting collectors in car parks trying to track down original recordings. It sounds exaggerated, but it really happened.”
To help restore the archival film to a quality never before projected, Luhrmann enlisted the expertise of Kiwi filmmaker Peter Jackson and his team, renowned for their meticulous work on The Beatles: Get Back. The technical challenge was immense—many reels were silent, requiring painstaking audio synchronization, and some tracks had to be reconstructed entirely. The result is a film that, while retaining the authentic look and feel of 1970s concert footage, delivers an immersive, high-fidelity experience that is nothing short of spectacular.
According to UPI, the documentary excels in capturing not just the scale of Elvis’s performances but also his charisma, humor, and humanity. The film features footage from Presley’s 1969 to 1977 Las Vegas residency, including 16mm and 8mm film, and presents it in a towering IMAX format. The sound, calibrated for modern theaters, envelops viewers in a way few concert films have achieved. “The concert documentary captures the magnitude of Presley’s charisma, performance and sense of humor,” wrote UPI’s Fred Topel. Even in moments familiar from other Presley material, EPiC elevates the experience to new heights.
What truly sets EPiC apart, however, is its narrative structure. Rather than relying on third-party commentary or a traditional documentary voiceover, Luhrmann lets Elvis speak for himself. The newly discovered 45-minute (or, as some reports have it, 50-minute) candid tape of Elvis serves as the backbone of the film’s narration. “That changed everything,” Luhrmann told Solstice Media. “Elvis was famously guarded in interviews. But on this tape, he’s completely unfiltered. He talks about his experiences, his fears, his beliefs. That’s when I realized this film needed to let Elvis tell his own story.”
The documentary’s setlist is as iconic as its subject, featuring classics like “That’s All Right,” “Hound Dog,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” and “Burning Love,” as well as gospel numbers and Beatles covers. Presley’s performances are interwoven with moments of humor, warmth, and vulnerability, both on stage and in rehearsal. Viewers see Elvis interacting with his band, making performance decisions, and connecting with fans—notably giving affectionate kisses to women in the front row and showing special attention to young and disabled fans, underscoring his reputation for kindness.
Luhrmann’s personal connection to the project is evident. Growing up in Herons Creek, New South Wales, he learned early on that cinema could be a sacred space for escape and wonder. That ethos permeates EPiC, which he crafted with his longtime creative partner Catherine Martin and composer Elliott Wheeler, whose score was recorded on the Gold Coast. The documentary’s budget, at $10–11 million, is a fraction of Luhrmann’s 2022 Elvis biopic, which cost $85 million, but the scale of ambition is no less grand.
The premiere in Melbourne was a sold-out affair, and Luhrmann is now embarking on what he jokingly calls “the world tour Elvis never had,” with screenings planned for London, Paris, and beyond. Tickets for the IMAX experience range from $23 in Melbourne to $38 in Sydney, reflecting the premium nature of the event. “It’s about keeping him in the theatres… because that’s where a star, a soul, a spirit, and a talent as big as Elvis deserves to be,” Luhrmann told Forbes Australia before jetting off to the film’s French unveiling.
For Luhrmann, EPiC is more than just a documentary—it’s a chance for Elvis’s voice and vision to reach new generations. “I thought making Elvis would close that chapter,” he confessed to Solstice Media, “but now I realize he’ll probably never leave me creatively—and honestly, that feels like a privilege.”
With its blend of archival discovery, technical mastery, and heartfelt storytelling, EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert is poised to become a landmark in music cinema, offering fans and newcomers alike the rare chance to experience the King as if he never left the building.